Keeping Score: The ABCs of the election

IT’S GOING TO TAKE quite a bit of time to makes sense out of the recently concluded elections ... and that day may never come. In the meantime we all will be kept busy by watching those on the left participate in another series of celebrations, and keeping those on the right from jumping off the nearest bridge.

The theme song for the first group should be that old Depression tune that prodded an economically whipped populace to whistle past the fiscal graveyard: “Happy Days Are Here Again.”

For the second group, I suggest the theme song from the Broadway musical Annie. Since they need it more, here are the first few lines from that song:

“The sun will come out tomorrow.

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Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there’ll be sun.”

IN THE MEANTIME, while trying to make sense out of an American mindset that doesn’t make sense, here are the ABCs of the 2012 election — locally, statewide and nationally.

A — Articulate — The next time someone says that the reason they like Barack Obama for president is because he is articulate, I’m going to vomit. If you needed open heart surgery, would you be looking for the most articulate surgeon? Or the most qualified one?

B — Boston — Mitt Romney’s team had a fireworks celebration all set up in Boston Harbor for election night. They should have been working on getting votes instead.

C — Chad — No hanging chads this time around. Florida went Democrat by a very close margin.

D — Democrats — The ground game of the Democratic Party proved to be efficient and prolific. They work harder for the votes of the public than the Republicans do ... at every level. Can’t remember the last time someone from the Republican Party came knocking at my door.

E — Error — Fox’s Bill O’Reilly, who prides himself on being a protector of the citizens, dropped the ball when he didn’t publicly call pundits such as Karl Rove and Dick Morris on the carpet for their horribly inaccurate predictions.

F — Fox News — The biggest loser on election night might have been Fox News. The cable news network took a huge hit in credibility with its pathetic coverage of the election — in the weeks leading up to it and even in the minutes before the final victory was announced. They proved to be cheerleaders for the Republican Party, rather than true journalists. We have come to expect this from MSNBC, on the Democrat side, but Fox? The network claims to be fair and balanced. Their team of pundits proved to be as proficient as a blind judge at a beauty pageant. Dick Morris, Carl Rove and the rest of the so-called experts should be fired for their incompetence.

G — Gridlock — With the White House and the Senate firmly in Democratic control, and the House still firmly controlled by Republicans, are we looking at four more years of gridlock? Senate boss Harry Reid says no. He is ready to reach across the aisle and work hand-in-hand with Republicans to produce a budget and start pulling the economy out of its rut. Don’t hold your breath.

H — Hurricane — There are still those who insist that if the election had been held before Hurricane Sandy, instead of on Nov. 6, Romney would have won. What a weak excuse.

I — Intransigence — Throughout a first term President Obama has shown an absolute unwillingness to move off his far-left agenda. In fact, he seems to be moving farther left. Now, in post-election talk, there is a lot of rhetoric about conciliatory efforts. Don’t believe it. A leopard doesn’t change its spots.

J — Joke — Trying to think of one to ease the apprehension of four more years that will resemble the last four. Can’t think of one.

K — Kool-Aid — Republicans claim that the American public has been drinking liberal Kool-Aid and that is what fuels the support for President Obama. If so, then the Republicans better find some of their own Kool-Aid to distribute because they are losing ground in a country that seems to be getting more liberal by the second.

L — Latino — The Latino vote went to Obama by a 70-to-30 margin. Republicans better wake up and address immigration reform — including some form of amnesty — if they ever want to see the White House again. Latinos are the fastest growing segment of the American electorate. They are becoming entrenched in the Democratic camp.

M - Mormon — Claims of bigotry are more often raised by the left than the right. But the fact remains that there were a number of Americans who did not vote for Romney simply because he was a Mormon. Personally, I know of two in Montgomery County who made a public statement to that effect. How many do you know?

N — North Carolina — The Tarheel State was one of only two battleground states won by Romney. West Virginia was the other. Going 2-7 in the so-called swing states is a sure path to the unemployment line.

O — Omniscient — The pollsters like to present themselves as omniscient. The Rasmussen Poll may have seemed that way in 2008, when it predicted exactly the outcome of the presidential election. But Rasmussen was way off this time, predicting a one point Romney win. Of 28 major polls, 16 predicted an Obama win, eight called for a tie and four blind mice believed Romney would win ... to the bitter end.

P — Popular Vote — A total of 8 million less Americans voted for President Obama in 2012 than 2008 — a drop from 69 million to 61 million. Romney received virtually the same number of votes as John McCain did in 2008, around 59 million.

Q — Quote Book — Four more years of Joe Biden as vice president should provide us with enough additional gaffs to complete the book, “A VP’s Guide to Speaking with his Foot in His Mouth.”

R — Rubio — At this point Florida’s Marco Rubio stands as the leading candidate to lead the Republican ticket in 2016. He will need a lot more organizational help than Romney received.

S — Shellshocked — That is how members of the Romney team described the reaction as the challenger took one haymaker after another on election night.

T — Tom Smith — Just like Romney, rich businessmen didn’t fare well in this election. Smith spent 17 million of his own money in a weak attempt to unseat U.S. Senator Bob Casey. Is a senate seat really worth that much?

U — Underdog — With all of the talk about a swell of support for Romney in the closing month and the possibility of a landslide Republican win, President Obama almost took on an underdog role. Since when has an incumbent ever been an underdog?

V — Vereb — Another strong showing by Mike Vereb brings him a fourth term in the Pa. House of Representatives. He was one of the few Republicans to show gains in this election. However, it must be noted that he incorrectly predicted a Romney win in the presidential race ... and even predicted that Romney would carry Pennsylvania. Good legislator — bad prognosticator.

W — “W” — The man they call “W”, George W. Bush, was amazingly quiet throughout this election process. Unlike Bill Clinton, who thrives on the spotlight, Bush believes that an ex-president should not be part of the campaign process. And, it seems that he is quite happy to live a more private life.

X — X-temporaneous — See Q, as in Quote Book. More chances for Vice President Biden to do extemporaneous speaking means more fodder for the gaff list.

Y — Yenta — The word yenta comes from the Yiddish term for an older, very gossipy woman. One of the worst campaign videos of a dirty, mean-spirited election campaign was meant to be distributed among Jewish female voters. It slung mud at Romney throughout, then closed with a hateful rant, “Any woman who votes for Romney should be shot.” The final command was to send it to every Jewish female — who then voted en masse (92 percent) for Obama.

Z — Zealots — These are the voters who base their decisions on a single issue. It can be so zealous that it trumps all other issues. And, often, trumps rational thinking.

Tony Leodora is president of TL Golf Services, a golf promotion company that includes his work as host of the weekly GolfTalk Live radio show on WNTP 990-AM and editor of GolfStyles magazine. He is former sports editor of The Times Herald. Send comments to tlgolfservices@aol.com.